Cards From the Best RBs of the Decade
Loading ...Football was a run-first game in the 1950s. That doesn’t mean great quarterbacks and wide receivers didn’t have their moments – the game took great offensive strides in the ’50s, but it was a running league. Naturally, the ’50s generated a number of prolific runners that still impact the game today, none more important than Jim Brown, who was so dominant the moment he stepped onto the field as a rookie that he won the MVP, then won it again the very next year. He was the GOAT of GOATS, and to put it in perspective, Frank Gifford’s favorite athlete was his peer, Jim Brown.
And everyone wanted Brown’s Topps Football card.
Let’s reminisce on these trailblazers as we look at their best cards to collect from vintage Topps Football and Bowman sets that are still highly sought after today.
The Top RBs of the 1950s
1957 Topps Football #88 Frank Gifford
Player info
• 1956 league MVP
• holds the record for most TD passes thrown by a non-qb: 14
Set info
• 151 card set
• 31 Hall of Fame players in the set – one of the largest ratios ever
What they said
• “He played hard always, and he had a good sense of the game. And so he could run, he could pass, he could play defense … and so any time he was needed to play either way, he was ready.” – teammate Rosey Grier
1952 Bowman Large #120 Dan Towler RC
Player info
• 1952 rushing leader
• two-time league rushing TD leader
set info
• 144 card set
• many cards, including Frank Gifford, Steve van Buren, and George Connor are short printed
What they said
• “This gentleman belongs in the Hall of Fame and should be recognized as one of the greatest running backs to ever play…” – Hall of Fame db Dick Lebeau
1955 Bowman Football #44 Joe Perry
Player info
• three-time rushing and rushing TD leader
• 1954 league MVP
Set info
• 160 card set. the card Back features a player bio and a play diagram
What they said
• “Joe was the kind of guy you’d love to play your whole career with.” – Johnny Unitas
1959 Topps Football #100 Lenny Moore
Player info
• 1964 league MVP
• led the league in avg ypc four times
set info
• 176 card set – at the time, the largest set in Topps football history
What they said
• “Lenny might have been one of the best who’s ever played the game.” – Don Shula
1958 Topps Football #62 Jim Brown RC
Player info
• only rookie of the year to ever win league MVP
• led the league in rushing in eight of his nine seasons
set info
• 132 card set
• each card back featured career stats and a trivia question
What they said
• “If he’s playing, it doesn’t matter whether they have a good quarterback or not. They have a helluva chance to win.” – Clark judge
